Chalkware Dog
c. 1940
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 38.2 x 27.9 cm (15 1/16 x 11 in.) Original IAD Object: 12" high
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.8320
Art Historical Context
Behold the charming *Chalkware Dog* Sadie Berman, created around 1940 as part of the Federal Art Project's Index of American. This watercolor and graphite rendering on paperboard (38.2 x 27.9 cm) captures a whimsical 12-inch-high folk sculpture made from molded plaster of Paris—known as chalkware—painted in vibrant colors typical of 19th-century American decorative arts. Chalkware dogs like this one were beloved household ornaments, often produced by Pennsylvania German or Italian immigrant craftsmen. They symbolized prosperity and playfulness, adorning mantels and shelves in modest homes. Be...
About the Artist
Sadie Berman
Sadie Berman (1897–1994) was an American artist best known for her meticulous contributions to the Index of American Design, a Federal Art Project initiative under the Works Progress Administration during the late 1930s and early 1940s. This ambitious endeavor commissioned artists across the United States to create precise watercolor renderings of everyday folk art objects, preserving the nation's...